JLCM Book CLub - Jumper

[Kast]

Jilly pepper, you might be comforted to read the foreword in Gould's newest book, it explains the differences and the reasons he changed. I have to say his third book doesn't pull any punches. It was pretty screwed up and yet had that same sense of wonder and infinite horizon that was present in the original.

[Samuel]

I haven't read the book, but as a fan of Anime and Manga, it is VERY rare that the Anime follow the Manga past the initial premise and backstory. Normally, the events are different, certain characters are unique to each. So I have no problem with 2 different universes being there, one in print and one in film, I'd be glad it gave two different views, because I can enjoy both for what they are and have more of something I love with what they're not.

[gerbo321]

Seems like when I read a manga and watch the anime they follow fairly closely. Only times they don't is because imo they started the anime way to early and catch up the manga. Like Full metal alchemist.

[Reville Rashkae]

This move reminds me of Starship Troopers. That movie's relation to the book was the main character's names and that they were fighting bug aliens. And that's about it.

Personnally, my feelings about books and movies is you should either A) Make it as close to the book as possible. or B) Make it as unlike the book, while still following the basic idea, as possible.
Either way, you have people complaining about how it is missing stuff from the book or changed. The way I see it is: If it's almost nothing like the book, it's hard to complain about it, since it's not this scene or that guy, it's the entirety of the movie.

I would be okay with the movie if they didn't keep the "Runaway" bit and just made it about the jumping thing. It makes it too much like the book and makes me cringe whenever I see horrible changes to it

[E. Bernhard Warg]

I made sure to read both Jumper and Reflex before seeing the movie, but I'll try to be objective here and just view the movie on its own merits (and I'll probably rant about the changes I didn't like in a later post ).

The main thing I didn't like was that I didn't care very much about Davy and Millie, and it's never a good thing if one doesn't care about a film's protagonists. I liked Griffin much more than the romantic leads, and I think the film might have been much better if, as Reville Rashkae suggested, it was just about him and just ignored the book altogether (Whoops! I'm getting into book comparison territory).

I also didn't like the fact that they were inconsistent about whether or not jumping cancels momentum (no if you're in a moving vehicle, no if you're jumping off a railing, yes if you're falling off the Empire State Building?)

[vonpokemon]

I will grudgingly admit that the movie is okay. They tried to get the weepy, frightened Davy that I know and love, which I appreciate, but it only really came out near the end when he was so desperate to save Millie.

The physics of jumping seemed a little confused though, as noted by Mr. Warg. In the beginning of the film, he's practically demolishing a cheap hotel room with his jumps, but later on he's casually jumping about his swank penthouse without so much as fluttering the pages of a book. Was he just inexperienced in his youth? Who knows. Like most sci-fi films, the explanation of the science half of the fiction are ill-defined.

Also, Samuel L. Jackson looks absurd with white hair. Very distracting.

As for comparing the book to the movie (I've only read Jumper, not the sequels) I don't think one can do so fairly. They fit into that category of "movies that are only using the book's characters and basic premise," and so I think they need to be evaluated separately. My evaluations: Jumper the book = awesome, Jumper the movie = pretty okay, I guess.

[joerules]

There are parts of this book that I lov e so much even though there are times where I think Davy is a real jack tard. I'm on page 195 right now where Davy is in the desert testing the powers. It's great the way Gould approaches the gift logically. Video cameras, binoculars - all used to help him jump more efficently. It's also nice that an 18-year-old kid discovers these things organically and not in one jump.

[opie301]

I finally finished the book the other day (Lindsay has been sick, so things have slowed down enough for me to finally read some more).

Just as people have said, it's about growing up. He's really just a scared kid when he starts, but these powers let him experience so much in just a short time, that it's hard to believe that he's still an 18 year old kid when it all comes to an end. And maybe that's the part that throws me. This it's too much for me to believe that this all happens over the course of a year, give or take.

But Gould ends the book well enough. It's not all smiles, but you get the feeling that Davey is going some place better with his life. A little bit more direction and a little less angsty reactions.

The terrorism plot does kind of take the book in a whole new direction (and I'm a little upset that the NYPD investigation thread never really receives a proper conclusion) rather quickly. The thing is, the terrorism plot seems like it could have made for a very good plot for the movie. It's definitely topical. I'm still not sure why the whole cartoon cliche of an evil opposing organization had to be inserted into this. The book stands on its own.

[Kast]

But terrorism isn't hip opie.

And since the movie is aimed at 14 year olds, we can't have them think about the real world......

(I'm seeing it tomorrow and I'm holding on to a slim hope right now that it will kick ass)

[joerules]

I kind of like the group in the movie. It creates a whole history with the two waring triubes for hundreds of years. It's definitely not the book, but I feel about it kind of the same way I feel about I Am Legend. Not a great adaptation by any means, but kind of a neat idea on its own.

[matt!]

REFLEX (JUMPER 2) SPOILERS

i can't keep track of the different jumper threads so i'm posting this here:

did anyone else think there might have been a hint in the movie that millie had powers? maybe it was already in the back of my mind because i read the synopsis of reflex (the sequel novel) and i think she does, but there was one scene in the movie that confused me.

when davy jumps the apartment into the ocean, he is exhausted and drowning and they all jump into the library. since, upon arriving in the library, davy is immediately unconscious, my first instinct was that millie had actually been the one to teleport them and her confusion mirrored that of davy after his first jump.

of course, the last few scenes don't really address this, so i have to figure it wasn't intended, but did anyone else get that impression?

[joerules]

They jump to the library because that's Davy's default safe place. It's where he instinctivly jumps. It would make sense that Millie has a differnt safe place, but I guess it's possible. I think the real indicator that Davy is the one that did the jump is that he was unconcious. He knocked himself out because it was such a difficult jump for him to do.

[matt!]

you're right, if it were millie, they wouldn't have ended up in davy's default jumpspot.

i was just thinking it might have been her because maybe davy was already unconscious underwater, cause of the unparalleled display of jumper power just prior. i mean, i was thinking that they jumped to the library while davy was already out.

oh shit sorry if that was a REFLEX SPOILER about millie's powers before.

[joerules]

Giving her powers feels like a mistake to me. Especially with what they do with Davy's mother in the movie. Has anyone read the prequel comic "Jumpscars"?

******SPILERS FOR the MOVIE and JUMPSCARS*****
It gives a history of Davy's mother as a Palidan, and implies that Davy's father might have been another Jumper and not the father in the movie (Played by Mr. Svenings.)

[cris gurau]

REFLEX (JUMPER 2) SPOILERS

i can't keep track of the different jumper threads so i'm posting this here:

did anyone else think there might have been a hint in the movie that millie had powers? maybe it was already in the back of my mind because i read the synopsis of reflex (the sequel novel) and i think she does, but there was one scene in the movie that confused me.

when davy jumps the apartment into the ocean, he is exhausted and drowning and they all jump into the library. since, upon arriving in the library, davy is immediately unconscious, my first instinct was that millie had actually been the one to teleport them and her confusion mirrored that of davy after his first jump.

of course, the last few scenes don't really address this, so i have to figure it wasn't intended, but did anyone else get that impression?

My sense of the Jumper sequel was that Millie became a jumper after years of jumping around with Davy. It wasn't something she was born with, which leads her to wonder if their kids would eventually get the power, as well.

Having said that...


I really need to read Reflex again. It's been too long since I've read it last.